It’s Legit by Hamsika C. '13
Black Holes, Bandaids, and Nobel Prizes
Because my roommate is in a sorority, she receives a whole slew of informative, interesting, and often inane e-mails. As she does a great job keeping up with her inbox, she is naturally well-informed about the goings-on in the MIT community – so much so that I generally find out about things through her. Things like hacks :)
It was a matter of some dismay to my fellow freshmen and I when we arrived on campus in August, only to find MIT’s Great Dome shrouded in white wrappings and the hubbub of construction. Now, at last, the scaffolding around the dorm is slowly coming down. MIT Hackers did a little to welcome the Dome back to the world of sight:
(All Hack Photo Credit to Eric Schmiedl)
Yup, that’s a bandaid. Our beloved dome is all fixed up.
But the hackers didn’t stop there! Early last Saturday, they transformed the ceiling of Lobby 7 into a massive black hole and even showed a smooshed CERN spaceship being sucked within. This was, as some of you will have already guessed, in reference to the Large Hadron Collider project.
Isn’t it beautiful? I have no idea how they managed to put this up, but it’s entirely legit.
As legit as my chem professor’s 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry :)
In honor of it being the last chem class for the fall semester, Professor Schrock gave a lecture yesterday titled, “How to Win a Nobel Prize” – hands down, it was my favorite chem lecture of the semester. We got a chance to hear about his work, see his pictures from the award ceremony, and even catch a glimpse of his certificate from up close. At the end of class, everyone swarmed to the front of the room to take pictures – and my camera managed to capture this one:
I knew it was a good idea to ask for a camera for my 18th birthday :)
I only wish studying for the final were as entertaining as class yesterday…I’ll be taking my chem final next Tuesday – the day before EA decisions come out!!
How are you guys holding up? The wait is almost over! I wish all of you every bit of luck in the world :)
Wow this is awesome! I hope I get in! I’m so nervous about next Wednesday.
I love how your freshman chemistry prof is a nobel prize winner, make sure you realize how lucky you are
. I’m so nervous for EA decisions, I’ve probably visited this site five times every day over the past three weeks. Not even the two exams I have tomorrow can take my mind off of it,
Great post Hamsika! I think Professor Schrock is cool.
Hahaha. Loved the reference to the LHC.
love the band-aid.
Eeeep! those hacks are pretty awesome, especially the LHC one.
And in case you’re ever wondering if the Large Hadron Collider has destroyed the world yet:
http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
(It’s good to double-check sometimes, just in case.)
i’m so nervous! my confidence level has been rising and dropping to the extremes this week. >i’m so nervous! my confidence level has been rising and dropping to the extremes this week. ><” i hope i get in!
hacks are my absolute favorite part about life at MIT. that was a pretty sweet black hole. i wanna be able to see all of this up close instead of just looking at pictures on blogs.
This is one of those small things that makes MIT’s undergraduate experience slightly more charming than here at Caltech.
All these hacks are like the senior pranks you wish your high school had. =0
Great writer!!! My dream in life is to win a Nobel Prize and make my parents happy! Chem is my fave!
oh wow. i love the hacks
and i see mark! =]
but yea. currently studying for a physics 2 test tomorrow helps me keep my mind off of decisions just a lil bit. =/
Thanks so much for the thanks! I’ll definitely need it! LOL I’m actually hoping to get deferred, since I am pretty positive there is no way I’ll get in early. I applied mainly to show how much I love this effing school! If it was restrictive to apply to MIT early, I’d still do it!
Good luck on your chem final. ~ From a chem buff.
Hey just curious, what high school did you go to in Houston?
Believe it or not, I had a dream that I was accepted to MIT yesterday night, and I’m like 6 years away from being considered for admission. It was the best dream ever; for a few moments I actually believed it was true, then was devastated when I woke up.
Is there any hack related to the Copenhagen summit?
Stanford came out early (4 days early), is there any chance that MiT will come out earlier than the 16th at 6pm? If so, how much earlier?
I have read all your writings in the blog. They are great. Please i request you to write something about midyear report for students belonging to INDIA
Amongst the Shattered Dreams and Greatest Success, lies the WORTHY Happiness of LIFE, Only to be realised with the passage of TIME.
“WISHING THE BESTEST AND GREATEST OF LUCKS FOR ALL”
~GOOD LUCKS~